MILAN CENTRAL DIVISION Law and Practice Contributed by: Luca Pellicciari, Lorenzo Battarino and Daniel Borgogni, Trevisan & Cuonzo
4.6 Court of Appeal Procedural Jurisprudence
5.3 Costs Awards Despite a number of applications for a cost deci - sion having been filed (four), no decision has yet been issued in this regard at the time of publica - tion of this guide. As regards costs, it is interesting to note that the Milan CD has addressed the issue of con - fidentiality of information submitted by the par - ties to determine the amount of costs to be awarded. In an order issued in the Insulet v EOFlow proceedings for provisional measures (ORD_25720/2025), the Milan CD held that, in principle, the costs of the proceedings are not covered by confidentiality under Rule 262A RoP or by the attorney–client privilege unless they are specifically indicative of the company’s financial capacity, its commercial strategy or the importance of the patent as a corporate asset. Applying these principles, confidentiality might be granted in relation to costs incurred by the parties for legal services relating to litigation and patent protection, since such information might indicate the importance that companies attach to the patents they hold and the risks they are willing to take to protect them. 5.4 Damages No awards of damages have yet been issued by the Milan CD. 6. The Future of the UPC 6.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of the UPC Parties litigating before the Milan CD can expect to benefit from some of its particular features. First, the current docket remains relatively clear, with a low number of pending cases, ensuring greater efficiency and shorter time lines. Moreover, the judges appointed are highly experienced in pat -
No decisions by the Milan CD have been reformed to date by the Court of Appeal in rela - tion to procedural issues. 5. Economic Issues and Remedies 5.1 Case Value and Court Fees So far, no specific trend has emerged before the Milan CD as regards the approach of litigants to determining the value of the case, and con - sequently to the level of court fees being paid. In the only substantive decision issued so far, in the mentioned Insulet v EOFlow urgent proceed - ings for provisional measures, the value of the case was set as per the amount proposed by the claimant (EUR2.5 million: see ORD_56716/2024). The issue will be addressed in the first decisions on the merits, which the Milan CD will start issu - ing soon after publication of this guide (30 June 2025). 5.2 UPC Court Fees Compared to National Courts Court fees at the UPC are generally much higher than national fees, in particular in relation to rev - ocation actions to be brought before the Milan CD, where the fixed fee is EUR20,000. National fees for initiating patent proceedings (includ - ing revocation actions) are typically limited to around EUR1,000. This is arguably one of the reasons why pure national Italian patent litigation has not yet shift - ed to the UPC (as opposed to other jurisdictions, where UPC costs are comparable to costs for national patent litigation).
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